If Tomorrow Never Comes | On Hold

15

Aiden - Missed Call (8)
Aiden - iMessage (14)

Avery shoved her phone back under her pillow and buried her face under the comforter, silent tears streaming down her face. It'd been two days since she left Aiden at the party but his broken voice as he yelled her name was still crystal clear in her head.

Her phone began vibrating again and she took it back out, watching as his name appeared once again across her screen. It rang and rang and rang until it stopped and her lock screen updated.

Aiden - Missed Call (9)

School had started hours ago but she hadn't had the energy to get up and go after all the crying she'd endured through the weekend and the little hours of sleep she managed to get. She heard a knock sound faintly from the front door, her fathers footsteps as he went to open it.

She didn't hear voices and so assumed that it was someone trying to sell them something. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath, relaxing her mind so she could hopefully get some hours of sleep.

But then she heard footsteps coming up the stairs and she braced herself for her fathers questions once again. What happened? What did he do? Why won't you talk to me?

She hated to see the broken expression he wore whenever she dismissed him, refusing to talk about the heartbreak she was experiencing. When the door opened and closed quietly she didn't bother looking, "dad I told you I don't want to talk about it."

"But I do." His deep voice resonated through her and her blood ran cold, breath catching in her throat as new tears sprung free, making her shoulders shake underneath the covers. She didn't want to talk to him, let alone see him. Betrayal coursed through her veins knowing that her dad had let him in, completely disregarding her wishes of not wanting to speak about Aiden.

She sat up and let the comforter fall to her waist. Her wrinkled navy blue t-shirt and messy bun, along with the dark circles under her puffy eyes and wet cheeks made her look completely undone. She didn't dare look his way and so played with the sheets beneath her fingers, hands shaking.

"You shouldn't be here," the whisper left her lips, pure sadness weighing heavy in her words. She heard him walk closer and when he sat on the edge of the bed, she brought her knees up to her chest and turned her head to look out of her window instead.

"You didn't give me much of a choice," there was an underlying tone of desperation as he spoke. His back was to her and so she snuck a glance at him, his shoulders were hunched forward and his hair was a mess of waves and curls on top of his head, his hands were grasping the edge of the bed with enough force that she watched as his knuckles slowly turned white.

She hated the fact that her entire being wanted to crawl over to him, to hold him while his fingers tangled in her hair, to breathe in the now-familiar honey and lemon scent that clung to him like a second skin.

"I know what I saw and-"

"And if you had just given me a chance to explain myself instead of running away then we could have avoided all of this!" He stood up and ran his hands through his hair while she sat there stunned, she'd never seen him so angry before but when he turned around and their gazes locked she realized it wasn't anger at all. It was hurt, sadness, exasperation all mixed into one deadly combination.

"Enlighten me then," she whispered as she regarded him intently. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees, all of her emotions hiding behind one impassive expression.

"I didn't even know she was following me," he began softly, "I went upstairs to clear my head for a minute because- well you walked in looking the way you did and I knew... I just knew I wasn't going to be able to keep my hands to myself.